By Ahmed Ajikobi
Kidnapped Ilorin bound passengers are yet to be regain freedom after seventeen days of being held hostage by their abductors.
The kidnappers of the travellers have, however, made fresh demand of five million naira ransom from relatives of two of the victims, National Pilot can report.
It was reliably gathered that the kidnappers had on Saturday called relatives of the victims to pay up the additional ransom, just as they threatened to kill their hostages if the money was not paid.
Speaking to our reporter yesterday on telephone, a relative of one of the victims, who craved anonymity for security reasons, revealed that the suspects called on Saturday to make demand for five million naira to free Bukola Abdulqadir and Sikirulahi.
He said the family had reached out to the state government to help facilitate the release of the abducted traveller.
Meanwhile, speaking on how Sikirulahi was kidnapped, the source said he was lured by the kidnappers who subsequently abducted him.
“Sikirulahi and Abdulqadir Madara, husband of one of the abductees, Bukola went to Zaria to pay ransom of N1.5m for the release of the victim. From Zaria they travelled to Galadima for about two hours.
“From Galadima they travelled for about one and half hour to get to where the kidnappers were and the money was delivered to them. They were told to go back to Zaria to wait for their abducted relative.
โOn their way back to Zaria, they received call from the kidnappers that they should come back to pick Bukola. It was decided that Sikirulahi who could speak Hausa language should go back.
โWhile waiting, Abdulqadir recieved call from Sikirulahi that he has also been abducted too that the Kidnappers said the money brought was payment for the feeding expenses on Bukola since she was held in their den,” he narrated.
It would be recalled that no fewer than 8 travellers enroute Ilorin from Kano were abducted by kidnappers, recently.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the family members of one of the kidnapped victim while narrating the ordeal of the family said โThe kidnappers attacked the vehicle conveying the travelers along Zaria-Kano road, shooting 4 people including the driver, before abducting 8 of the passengers on Thursday 12th, November 2020.
โThey contacted us demanding for N10 million ransom 48 hours after, with stern warning not to inform the security agencies or theyโll kill the abductees.
โThey initially asked us to gather the money and deliver it to their agent at Oko olowo, here in Ilorin, which we agreed to, only for them to change the delivery point under the guise that weโve made the delivery point public.
โAfter back and forth negotiations, they reduced the money from N10m to N3m which we agreed to deliver at a location at along the Zaria-Kano expressway, Kaduna State.โ
